A Healthy Weight Guide for Pregnancy

Many women take steps to improve their health when they are pregnant or planning a pregnancy: they quit smoking, stop drinking and eat healthy food. A lesser known (but no less important) consideration is maintaining a healthy body weight. In this article we'll provide you with some guidelines to help you maintain a healthy weight before conception and during pregnancy:

1. Pre-Conception

Your weight at conception is one of the most important factors in determining your pregnancy outcomes. You should aim to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) in the healthy weight range prior to conception.

2. Pregnancy

In 2009 the American Institute of Medicine updated its guidelines for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy:

Pre-Pregnancy BMI / Recommended Total Weight Gain
Underweight / 13-18kg
Normal Weight / 11-16kg
Overweight / 7-11kg
All classes of Obesity / 5-9kg

And for multiple births:

Pre-Pregnancy BMI / Recommended Total Weight Gain
Normal Weight / 17-24kg
Overweight / 14-23kg
All Classes of Obesity / 11-19kg

These new guidelines have been adopted in response to health issues including an increasing incidence of infertility, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, larger birth weight babies, longer hospital stays and more effort required to return to pre-pregnancy weight.

Four trends are driving these health issues. The trends are an increase in the number of women:

1. Gaining too much weight during their pregnancy
2. Conceiving at larger pre-pregnancy weights
3. Having multiple births
4. Giving birth to their first baby later in their lives.

The American Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women seek advice from health professionals such as Dietitians and Exercise Physiologists to discuss diet and exercise until 12 months post partum. For advice about achieving and maintaining a healthy weight see an Accredited Dietitian, or if you are in Queensland you can visit a Dietitian at the Wesley Weight Management Clinic.

Reference:
Rasmussen, K and Yaktine, A. 2009, Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Re-examining the Guidelines, American Institute of Medicine